1. Field
Implementations of the invention relate to providing on-demand capabilities using virtual machines and clustering processes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mainframe computers are large computers that include multiple processors and are capable of supporting many users simultaneously. Mainframe computers have the ability to dynamically allocate resources to different workloads. The term workload may be described as a set of transactions that a computer processes (e.g., database transactions or e-mail transactions). For example, if one processor fails, a mainframe computer is able to automatically restart a workload that had been executing on the failed processor on a new processor. Similarly, if the workload exceeds a first processor's capabilities, a mainframe computer is able to add a second processor for that workload.
However, there is a need in the art for on-demand processing on, for example, a server computer. On-demand processing may be described as adaptive computing, autonomic computing or utility computing. With on-demand processing, a system adapts itself to meet the requirements of a changing workload, usually without human intervention.